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Dude, you are clearly unaware of the SHIELD Super-Helicarrier. I have rarely pitied anyone as I pitied those poor souls who got that and didn't have somewhere to store it during the rest of the convention. That sucker looked like it would dwarf the BAT-AT.

Oh yeah. I knew about it, but yeah, that must have been way worse. Don't they have any kind of coat check where you can keep your bigger items during the con? They did at Celebration.

I didn't even know about that Shield Helicarrier. 4 feet long? Now I seriously wonder why we can't get anything like this for the Star Wars line.

"To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence… When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." - C.S. Lewis

I didn't even know about that Shield Helicarrier. 4 feet long? Now I seriously wonder why we can't get anything like this for the Star Wars line.

Well, I'm not into the Marvel line at all, but the Helicarrier isn't as interesting as it sounds. Yeah it's a monster, but it's just long and flat with spinning turbines and missile launchers on the sides. If Hasbro were to do a 4 foot long Star Destroyer or Blockade Runner, it would be way more expensive and complicated because you'd have to be able to put figures inside the ship. It costs about as much as the BMF and probably required less tooling and just as much plastic to make it happen.

What's with the move these last two years to have ginormous exclusives at Comic-Con? Previous conventions have had basic figures, small vehicles, and things like that, but now with 2011's Death Star and 2012's carbonite set, we've moved into expensive multi-figure sets that are cool but (presumably) difficult to get home from the convention.

Also, just why the heck isn't there a CVI exclusive? They could have re-released the carbonite set, or finally released the Vader funeral pyre. Apparently Jocasta had something to do with it, but I want to know more.

I think Hasbro is trying to vary the SDCC experience, instead of doing a lot of mid-size exclusives like before they're mostly going big to keep the insanity down while giving buyers more to think about. The carded Marvel Universe Galactus was so popular that it really spawned that trend. The GI Joe / Transformers crossover HISS Tank box is huge, the Transformers Fall of Cybertron Bruticus box is huge, the Jem box is sizeable as well as the big name ones.

As for the CVI thing, there is a reason there's no exclusive but I'm not sure how much I can say beyond that plans had to change from what was intended.

Originally Posted by El Chuxter

Dude, you are clearly unaware of the SHIELD Super-Helicarrier. I have rarely pitied anyone as I pitied those poor souls who got that and didn't have somewhere to store it during the rest of the convention. That sucker looked like it would dwarf the BAT-AT.

Originally Posted by Mr. JabbaJohnL

Oh yeah. I knew about it, but yeah, that must have been way worse. Don't they have any kind of coat check where you can keep your bigger items during the con? They did at Celebration.

SDCC does have a coat check, single-day, $2, and they had a TON of those Super Helicarrier boxes back there. We also saw a lot going through the Fed Ex on-site store, and even the Fed Ex store out in Mission Valley on Saturday had one being shipped. Those suckers got around.

I feel for them, Chux, I won an eFX helmet at the SW Collectibles panel and the box is MASSIVE, I had to haul it through those crowds over to the Bayside Hilton parking lot to jam it into my car and it was quite the adventure.

Originally Posted by bigbarada

I didn't even know about that Shield Helicarrier. 4 feet long? Now I seriously wonder why we can't get anything like this for the Star Wars line.

Originally Posted by DarkJedi5

Well, I'm not into the Marvel line at all, but the Helicarrier isn't as interesting as it sounds. Yeah it's a monster, but it's just long and flat with spinning turbines and missile launchers on the sides. If Hasbro were to do a 4 foot long Star Destroyer or Blockade Runner, it would be way more expensive and complicated because you'd have to be able to put figures inside the ship. It costs about as much as the BMF and probably required less tooling and just as much plastic to make it happen.

That's true, the Super Helicarrier has an additional midsection panel with more launchers that the retail version doesn't have, but even with all that it's just a tower that's just a cockpit, and the stuff you mentioned - from underneath, it's got no detail at all. It's a cool set, but it's not on par with something that could work in the SW line.

Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"

The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.

According to certain sources, the running change made to Kithaba's bandana color (from brown to red) was specifically requested by Lucasfilm to make the figure appear more accurate. Is this true? It seems that this change was made pretty late in the figure's production, because the red bandana versions are very difficult to track down. Was there a similar request from Lucasfilm about Dr. Evazan's scar or was that a change that you guys decided to do on your own? From a collector's standpoint, while it is cool that Lucasfilm will step in occasionally to ensure accuracy in the line; it's also a little perplexing that they would focus on a minor character like Kithaba while allowing you guys to put sleeves on Jedi Luke's cloak for the Deleted Scene figure released earlier this year. You would think that they would be more focused on the accuracy of the main characters above everyone else. Or do they just let major screw ups like Luke's cloak slide because they know it will give you guys an excuse to sell us another Jedi Luke at some point down the line? Also, are you guys aware that neither bandana color for Kithaba is the correct color for the character? It should be closer to a deep burgundy red, rather than a bright red or dark brown.

"To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence… When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." - C.S. Lewis

All right, folks. Put on your readin' glasses! I have a mix of different kinds of questions ranging from nitpicky to slightly less nitpicky, and hopefully I'll be able to talk to Hasbro at CVI in some capacity. Discuss.

*What’s the idea or theory behind the most recent Battle Packs? There’s severely reduced articulation, done to save money and appeal to very young kids (who can’t manipulate the articulation without getting frustrated), plus reduced paint for the same reasons (plus “they’re supposed to be an homage to the vintage figures!” given as a reason). But then, the head sculpts are some of the best the line has ever seen – across the board (with Obi-Wan and Darth Maul having also been released in Movie Heroes). So, what was the actual initial reason for creating these figures? If it was cost – would or wouldn’t it have been cheaper to just cast figures from the late 1990s or early 2000s, as you already were doing in the line as of January 2012? If it was to give something to the kids – same reason as before? If it was to offer the best sculpts of these figures ever, was the lack of articulation a conscious desire (to get rid of unsightly ball joints - but then there are those massively ugly T-crotches in the Naboo set)? And why weren’t any of these amazing new heads released on the pre-existing Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon bodies?

*Will we see the Hoth Luke released with an alternate scarf/head to recreate his look for the rest of the time in the film? Perhaps in scarred and unscarred versions? (Such a pack – like an AT-ST/Ewok-style Special Action Figure Set two-pack – with a Han that could ride the Tauntaun a la the version in the Target exclusive Search for Luke Skywalker set pack but with his hood sculpted up, which already exists on several versions, could be a real hit.)

*Why is TVC Tarkin so green? Yes, sometimes the film lighting causes the gray outfits to look a little green, but the figure takes it to another level and looks significantly more green than any other movie-based officer figures ever have, and he looks out of place next to them. Will you be releasing a gray-suited version at any point?

*Is there still hope for much more new stuff from The Phantom Menace, now that its second (and most likely final, until the line license expires) big push has come, or was the 3D release kind of the last big chance? If it was, does this mean we might never see a Bongo, or a Kitster and Wald two-pack?

*On a similar note - how has the TPM 3D release affected your plans for future 3D releases?

*Some figures have had wires in their capes to help with posing – mostly in the 2008 Target exclusive Order 66 packs. We haven’t seen much of this since then, but Darth Malgus has this feature in the neckline of his cape. Will we see more of this at all, or has its time basically gone? Why haven't we seen more of this?

*Speaking of robes, when will we see an Attack of the Clones Anakin with his unique sleeveless robe from that film? The first attempt was on the 2003 Secret Ceremony figure, which was sculpted to look like it was blowing in the wind. The only other option that comes close is the 2005 deluxe Anakin to Vader figure, but it is enclosed at the top and not quite right. Could this be included with the new AOTC Anakin in time? (And perhaps those aforementioned wires could give it some shape so it doesn’t just fall right off?)

*Now that we have an ultimate Pablo-Jill figure coming, will we see his head retooled/repainted/resculpted to become Coleman Kcaj, the only remaining Jedi Council member not yet made?

*Why is Jar Jar always so expressionless? Both the Movie Heroes and Vintage Collection figures, as well as the majority of previous versions, are stone-faced and serious. Is this to appeal to the Binks haters out there, or something? Might we see a smiling, scared, or slack-tongued Jar Jar at any point? They could easily reuse one of the new bodies and just replace the head.

*Is there any news on the status of the funeral pyre Vader set?

*Will Droid Factory feature any straight repacks, like the Greatest Hits figures from the 2008-2010 Legacy lineup that were done to give buyers an option who perhaps didn't want some of the new figures but still wanted the piece to complete the droid? Or will the pieces all be specific to one figure and one figure only, as seems to be the case so far (with quite a few repacks/repaints in the line already)?

*What’s with the huge helmets on the newest Revenge of the Sith clone troopers? The helmets are just reused, and the AOTC version shows that you are clearly capable of sculpting a better-fitting, more accurate, less rubbery one, and yet we've already gotten all the big ROTS units in this big-helmet style.

*The availability of single figures on HasbroToyShop is bizarre this year, with TVC waves 1 and 2 online around the time they hit retail, but wave 3 not hitting until late July/early August (and Movie Heroes wave 2 listed as "Coming Soon" with no sign of post-wave 1 Clone Wars). The entire cases have been available, but that doesn't really help people who don't want (or can't afford) all 12 figures, especially when most case assortments have more repacks than new figures. With retail distribution so horrible, why can't collectors count on going directly to the source anymore?

*The upcoming Legacy Collection “Backstabber” TIE Fighter Pilot figure is actually inaccurate – the character in the film has Imperial logos on both sides of his helmet, but the figure only has one, as it was seemingly based on a still photo of the character that obscures the right-side logo in shadow. Will this be fixed?

*What is your involvement with the Disney Droid Factory station? Did you just license the molds, as seems to have been the case for R2-MK? Will we see the unique R6, R8, and R9 heads coming in the main line or as Droid Factory pieces (presumably without the hole for the hats)?

*With the new Emperor’s Wrath Darth Vader, we finally get an accurate damaged arm. Will we see this body re-released with the three-piece removable helmet? The peg on the Emperor's wrath version is much larger than on the removable helmet version, so fand can't really make this version properly. This version would look great with an unmasked Vader image on a vintage card, if/when the line ever returns.

*In A New Hope, R5-D4 is shown to have red panels on his back. We've gotten three molds of this figure (plus a current repaint/re-release of the 2006 version in the Target exclusive sets), and none of them have these panels - though the 1978 figure did. These ones are only good for his brief AOTC appearance. How many more inaccurate Arfives are we going to have to buy until we get the properly painted Skippy?